Freed Italian Disputes U.s. Account Of Shooting

The Ex-hostage Arrives Home To Outrage About The Incident That Killed An Agent And Wounded Her.

March 6, 2005|By Tracy Wilkinson, Los Angeles Times

ROME -- An Italian journalist freed from kidnappers in Iraq and then shot by American troops returned home Saturday and raised questions about the official U.S. explanation of the shooting, as emotional outrage swept Italy.

Giuliana Sgrena was wounded and an Italian intelligence agent who helped win her freedom was killed Friday night when U.S. soldiers opened fire on the Italians' car as it headed to the Baghdad airport in darkness shortly after her release.

Sgrena had been held hostage for a month.

The U.S. military said the shooting was an accident and that the vehicle was speeding toward an American checkpoint outside the airport and failed to heed warnings to stop.

But Sgrena told Italian state television Saturday that her car "was not going especially fast for a situation of that type." She also said her group was fired on by an American patrol and not at a checkpoint.

"We thought the danger was over after my rescue," Sgrena told RAI television by telephone. "And instead, suddenly there was this shooting. We were hit by a spray of fire."

She said she was talking to the intelligence agent, Nicola Calipari, about events in Italy when abruptly he leaned over her as the shooting started, probably, she said, to protect her. Then he slumped, and she realized he was dead.

"The gunfire continued," she said. "The driver couldn't manage to explain that we were Italians. It was a truly terrible thing."

Sgrena, 56, a veteran correspondent for the left-wing Il Manifesto newspaper, was hit in the shoulder, and two other agents in the car were wounded.

Later, speaking to Italian prosecutors who are determining whether criminal charges can be brought against the Americans, she said the "regular" speed of her car did not justify the shooting, according to the Italian news agency ANSA.